The Merrett Rifle Range

A rifle club was established at Williamstown in 1862 with the city’s first rifle range located at Williamstown Beach, an unsuitable location as the population increased and bathing became more popular.

The second site, further around the peninsula, held its first event in 1878. Various rifle clubs had their own buildings there, and the army used the rifle range extensively, especially during the wars. Sometime before the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne the name was changed to the Merrett Rifle Range, named for Colonel Charles E. Merrett who sat on the Victorian Rifle Association Council from 1890 to 1946. Its most famous moment was when it was used for shooting events during the 1956 Olympic Games.

The rifle range was closed in 1987 and is now a housing estate. The original clubhouse has been preserved at the centre of the estate.